Apparatus for conditioning sheet material



June 8, 1937. L. BUCK APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING SHEET MATERIAL FiledSept. 21, 1934 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 fizveizzvn Lucien Baa All June 8, 1937.

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APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Sept. 21-, 1934 4Sheets-Sheet 2 O N .Zizverzaw; ucz'erz Zack, 1 @W M 410% June 8, 1937. yBUCK APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING SHEET MATERIAL Filed Sept. 21. 1934 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Zia/era Z077 Lucien flack,

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43b L I .ZZCZkIZ Patented June 8, 1937 UNITED STATES APPARATUS FORCONDITIONING SHEET TERIAL Lucien Buck, Manchester, Conn.

Application September 21, 1934, Serial No. 744,883 A 6 Claims.

This invention pertains to apparatus for' damp condition, and preferablyemerging from the frame'substantially-- dry so as to retain the stretchimparted in tentering.

Efliciency of operation may require a linear speed of the fabric of theorder of one hundred yards per minute in passing through the tenteringframe, and in order to obtain proper drying during the relatively shortperiod in which the material is undergoing the tentering operation,various expedients have been employed to hasten the drying operation.Among these may be mentioned the use of radiant heat, as by theprovision of steam heating coils directly beneath the goods in thetenter frame (a method which is very wasteful of heat and which, withoutvery careful supervision, may cause injury to the material); the use ofa'tunnel-like housing for the tenter frame through which air, usuallypreheated, is delivered at high velocity, such air flowinglongitudinally of the goods so as to take up the moisture either bysurface contact or by uncontrolled filtration through the goods; orbythe use of nozzles so arranged as to deliver air under pressure and athigh velocity directly against one or both' surfaces of the goods so asactually to drive out the moisture by the force of the air jets. Each ofthese latter methods demands the expenditure of a great deal of power inproducing the high velocity air used (recent practice sometimesrequiring the delivery of air at the rate of from twenty thousand tothirty thousand cubic feet per minute), and since in such arrangementsthe air must travel through ducts from central fan-and-heaterinstallation, there is a. large loss of efficiency through frict on,particularly when the air is eventually discharged through restrictednozzles at high velocity. Moreover, in these prior systems there islittle provision for accurately regulating the amount of air, heat orpower consumed, although some types of goods require far less heat orair than others in order to ensure proper drying, while in that type ofconstruction in which the air is merely permitted to flow longiudinallyof the enclosing tunnel or housing it is practically impossible toobtain uniformity of (Cl. 3H8) drying either widthwise or lengthwise ofthe fabric.

The principal objects of the present invention are to provide fabricconditioning apparatus such as to ensure substantial uniformity inconditioning the fabric while it is undergoing the tentering operation;to permit ready regulation of the amounts of air and/or heat employed;to provide means whereby air at relatively low velocity and pressurebecomes effective for conditioning the material, thus reducing the costof power consumed; to provide apparatus such that air at differenttemperatures or pressures may be employed at different points or zoneslengthwise of the tenter frame in accordance with the requirements ofparticular conditions; to provide apparatus such that the delivery ofair at selected points or zones in the length of the fabric may bestopped without affecting the flow at other points; to provide, ifdesired, for subjecting the fabric to the action of a cooling mediumprior to its leaving the tentering frame, thereby to reduce itstemperature to a point suitable for later steps in the finishingprocess; to provide apparatus in which air at a relatively lowtemperature is so uniformly distributed over 1 the area'of the materialas effectively to dry the latter, thus reducing the amount of heatsupplied to a minimum; and to furnish apparatus such that, if desired,the material, after first being completely dried, may thereafter haveits moisture content increased to a predetermined and definite amountbefore leaving the tentering apparatus.

Further objects are to provide apparatus em- -ploying a plurality ofindependent, self-contained units each provided with air-circulating,air-distributing, and air-conditioning means, each such unit, forexample, being applicable to one section or zone of a standard tenterframe, thus permitting ready variation in the total amount of heat andair supplied in accordance with the type of goods which are to betreated. A further object is to provide fabric conditioning apparatusreadily applicable to tenter frames of variable width and operativewithout adjustment of the fabric conditioning apparatus to conditionfabric of any of the widths for which the frame is designed.

A further object is to provide apparatus so designed, as, for example,by the use of a perforated septum or distributing plate or wall disposedclosely adjacent to and substantially parallel with the cloth, todistribute the air over substantially the entire width of the fabric andin such a way as to cause the air to flow without substantial reboundfrom the fabric, thereby employing the air in the most effective way toremove the moisture from the material.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be moreparticularly pointed out hereinafter and by reference to theaccompanying drawings wherein certain desirable embodiments of theinvention are shown by way of example, and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation of a tentering frame ofconventional type provided with fabric conditioning means in accordancewith the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the apparatus shown in Fig.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic vertical section, to larger scale,substantially on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section similar to the upper left-handpart of Fig. 3, but

showing a slight modification;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic end elevation illustrating a preferredarrangement of adjacent tentering frames, each furnished with fabricconditioning means, such, for example, as illustrated in Fig. 1; I

Fig. 5 is a side elevation similar to Fig. 1, but illustrating a slightmodification;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is afragmentary side view on a slightly reduced scale, partly in section andpartly in elevation, of the unit shown in Fig. 3;

' Fig. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a ple num chamber casing ofa desirable type useful in the practice of the present invention;

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic vertical section transversely of the tenterframe, and to somewhat larger scale than Fig. 3, indicating the way inwhich the air is delivered and distributed over the surface of thefabric; 7

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating a portion of theperforatewall of the pienum chamber, provided with slits bordered bydownwardly inclined flanges;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary plan view showing the perforate wall of aplenum chamber provided with circular openings;

Fig. .11 is a view similar to Fig. 10, but showing air before it isadmitted to the plenum casing;

and

Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 3showing a unit provided with meansfor cooling the air before it is admitted to the plenum casing.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, my improved conditioning apparatus isillustratedas applied to a usual type of cloth tentering framecomprising the parallel chains I and 2 guided over suitable sprocketsand in conventional guideways which extend longitudinallyoi the frame,such chains being driven at the same linear speed by means ofconventional driving mechanism disposed at the delivery end of the frameand receiving power through a belt 3. The cloth C enters at the lefthandend ofthe frame, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2, and at the delivery end ofthe frame is rolled up by appropriate means to form the roll 4.

' ably of heat insulating character. For example,

this housing may consist of panelsof insulating material such, forexample, as cork, interposed between sheets of metal, the several panelsbeing united by connections of any appropriate type known to thoseskilled in the art.

Since a tentering frame is often very long and extends through severalbays or sections of the mill, I prefer for this reason, as well as otherreasons, to make my improved conditioning apparatus in the form of a'plurality of treating zones each of which may include one or moreindependent units 6, each adapted to fit into the space between adjacentpedestals of the tenter frame construction and to act upon the cloth atpredetermined zones or sections of the tenter frame. Since the unitscollectively may not necessarily extend throughout the desired length ofthe frame and since for some reasons it is desirable to space the unitsapart a certain distance, I preferably arrange them in series extendingalong the frame with the spaces between the individual units closed bymeans of side panels I (Fig. l) and .top panels 8 (Fig. 2). However, Icontemplate the use of units of such individual lengths as to permitthem to be fitted directly against each other, thereby collectively andof themselves forming the individual cloth-treating zones and theentirehousing structure.

These several conditioning units 6 may be substantially alike, and it isonly necessary to describe one of such units in detail together withsuch slight modifications as may be desirable in some of the units ofthe series.

Referring'to Figs. 3, 7 and 9, the unit 6 is shown as comprising sidewalls 9 and I0 and a top wall H, such walls, as above suggested, beingof suitable insulating material, the wall I l havingan owning l2therethrough, above which is arranged the conditioning housingcomprising the end wall l3 which forms a vertical continuation of thewall 9, the top wall-I4 and the opposite end walls I5 and IS, theportion I5 of the end wall preferably inclining so as better to directthe air which flows through this portion of the unit structure.

If desired, each unit may. have and walls 9, III, as illustrated in Fig.'7, such walls being furnished with openings of just suflicient width toadmit passage of the cloth or to receive such elements of the. unitstructure as may project outwardly beyond the planes of these end walls.However, these walls 9" and I 0* may be omitted, if desired. The upperpart of the unit, that is to say, the portion which provides theconditioning casing, .is likewise provided with end walls l3 and l3(Fig. 7). The unit casing may be braced by suitable structuralelementsi1, l8, I!

(Fig. 3) or the like and, if desired, the unit casing. -may have abottom panel so as to form a comstretched condition at substantially thelevel indicated in Fig. 3.

The wall member l3 of the conditioning castravel along these guidessupport the cloth C in r I ing of each unit is provided, as shown inFig. 7, with an outstanding bracket 28 which supports an electric motorM. Thismotor has a shaft 29 which extends lengthwise, through theconditioning casing, being mounted to turn in appropriate bearingscarried by the casing, and on this shaft a plurality of fans 30, 3|, 32,etc. are mounted. As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 7, three such fansare mounted on this shaft. Each fan has an individual casing 33', 34,35, respectively. Preferably these fans are of centrifugal type takingin air through a central opening and discharging it peripherally.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, the opening I! which leads from the lower partof the unit casing into the upper part is normally guarded by means of ascreen 36 pivotally supported at 31 and counterbalanced at 38, thearrangement being such that if the screen becomes clogged with lint, theair pressure beneath it will raise it so as automatically to uncover theopening I2 and will free passage of air therethrough until the attendanthas cleaned the lint from the screen.

The air which passes upwardly through the opening l2 enters chamber 39in the upper part of the casing and thence passes through a bank 40 ofheating coils into the part of the casing in which the fans are located.These heater coils may receive steam or other heating fluidthrough amain 4| (Fig. 1) having appropriate branches leading to each unit, suchmain being supplied with the heated fluid from any desired source, itbeing understood that appropriate valves are provided whereby the steamor other heating fluid supplied-to each coil 40 may be regulated or cutoff independently of that supplied to the other units.

The walls of the lower part of the unit define the air space or chamber43 (Figs. 3 and '7) into which the air is delivered after it has passedover the material to be dried and from which it moves upwardly throughthe opening into the chamber 29 for reheating and circulation by thefans. In the chamber 43 and above the level of the cloth C, I arrange acasing 44 providing a plenum chamber, and below the level of the cloth Iprovide a second casing 45 defining a second plenum chamber. A conduit'46 leads from the casing 34 of fan 3| downwardly to the upper plenumcasing 44, while conduits 4] lead from the casings 33 and 35 of the fans39 and 32, respectively, down to the lower plenum chamber 45.Appropriate dampers 48 and 49 may be arranged in these conduits so as toregulate or cut off the amount of air which is permitted'to flow throughthem.

The upper plenum casing 44 is furnished with a lower perforate wall 50and the lower plenum casing 45 is furnished with an upper perforate wallsuch walls being approximately parallel to the plane of the cloth andspaced a short distance above and below the level of the cloth C. Theperforate walls 50 and 5| extend longitudinally of the tenter frame adistance at least as great as the length of the unit, and they may tions52, 53 and 54, 55, respectively, which incline outwardly and. away fromthe cloth level, as shown in Figs. 3 and 9.

The plenum casings 44 and 45 are also each furnished with laterallyextending air guiding aprons, the aprons 56 of the casing 44 extendingdownwardly and outwardly from their junctions with the casing and theaprons 51 of the casing 45 extending upwardly and outwardly. Each of theaprons 56 preferably is furnished with a-substantially horizontal outerpart 56 while the aprons 51 are also furnished with substantiallyhorizontal portions 59. These horizontal portions 58 and 59 of the upperand lower aprons extend outwardly to a point beyond the position of theedge of the widest cloth which is to be tentered, so that when thetenter frame has been extended, to its widest capacity, the outer edgesof the aprons 58 and 59 are disposed laterally beyond the respectivetenter chains.

The perforate walls 50 and 5| preferably are made of sheet material andthe openings through these walls preferably are arranged as nearlyuniformly as possible. In Fig. the openings 60 in the wall 50 are shownas substantially circular. However, as illustrated in Fig. 9 the wall orseptum member 50- has elongate slots 60 therein formed, for example, byslitting the metal and then bending the metal bordering the slitsdownwardly to form inclined flanges. In Fig. 11 the wall of septum 50 isshown as furnished with simple elongate slots 60*, while in Fig. 12 theseptum or wall 5|] is shown as having parallel slots 60 defined by agrid-like arrangement of bars 6|.

Preferably each unit casing is furnished with an educt conduit 62 havinga control damper 63, the several conduits being connected to a main 64which extends longitudinally of the series of units and which leads to afan casing 65 in which is arranged-an exhaust fan adapted to dischargethe air drawn from the several units to a discharge pipe 66 which, forexample, may lead to a stack extending through the roof of the mill.

Referring to Fig. 8, I have illustrated one desirable construction forthe plenum casing, for example the lower plenum casing, which in thisview is indicated at 45, and which is mounted upon suitable supportinglegs 46. The upper perforate wall 5| of this .casing is shown as ofslightly pyramidal shape in order to give it the requisite stiffness andstrength, although it does not depart sufliciently from a plane surfaceto have any substantial effect on the direction of the air deliveredthrough the openings therein, and for all intents and purposes thissurfacemay be regarded as substantially horizontal. The inclinedmarginal portions 54 and 55 of this perforate surface are formed withperforations of the same type preferably as those of the main horizontalportion of the upper wall or septum, and the .aprons 51 extend upwardlyand outwardly and then horizontally, as shown at 59, the apronspreferably being hinged as shown at 5'1 to the side walls of the casingand being held in an operative position by braces 59. The operation ofsuch a unit as that illustrated in Figs. 3 and 7 is substantially asfollows: The

fan shaft 29, being rotated by means of the motor M, draws air throughthe heater coils 40 and discharges it through the conduits 46 and 41into the upper and lower plenum chambers 44 and 45. The air thusdelivered to these casings is under slight pressure and escapes throughthe perfora tions in a multitude of substantially parallel gling withthe air which is flowing more or less parallel to the surface of thecloth, sets up a high degree of turbulence adjacent to the selvages ofthe fabric and thus the selvages are dried very effectively. .Since theair can not 5 escape from between the plenum casings l4 and 46 except asit passes between the guide shields which overhang the chains of thetenter frame,-

it is evident that, regardless of the width to which the frame isadjusted, the selvages of the fabric will be impinged upon andconditioned by the air which flows outwardly from the plenum casings,and it will further be noted that with the present arrangement it is notnecessary to adjust any part of the conditioning apparatus concomitantlywith'the adjustment of the width of the tenter frame.

After the air has escaped from between the guide aprons, it flowsupwardly through the chamber 43 and thence through the screen 36 andopening l2 into the chamber 39 where it is ready for recirculationthrough the heating coil 40 and the fans. By opening the damper 63v anydesired portion of this air may be drawn off from 5 the unit casing anddischarged.

In Fig. 3 a slight modification is illustrated in which an opening I! isprovided between the chamber 43 and the fan chamber, this opening beingguarded, by an adjustable damper l2". When the damper l2 is opened aportion of the air passes directly to the fan chamber without flowingthrough the heater coils l0 and by adjusting this damper any desiredportion of the air may be caused to be reheated before again circulatingin contact with the cloth.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated'how my improved conditioning apparatus maybe applied to a pair of adjacent tenter frames without loss of space.Thus the unit casings 6" and 6b, which cover the tenter frames Mi and20", are shown as directly abutting with no lost space between them, thecasings preferably being disposed respectively in reversed position sothat the fans with their motors and shafts will be disposed at the outeror more accessible parts of the casings.

In Figs. 5 and 6, I have shown a slightly modified construction in whicheach of the conditioning units is furnished with a motor M having ashaft 29" carrying four fans I5, 16,11 and I8,

respectively, each having a conduit 19, 80, 8| and 82 (Fig. 5),respectively, leading therefrom, the two first conduits extending to theupper of the plenum casings and the other two conduits extending to thelower plenum casings. By reason of the uniform distribution of the airover the surface of the cloth, it is not necessary to develop a highvelocity of the air and thus Iam enabled to employ blower fans ofrelatively small diameter and, by using several such fans upon the sameshaft, to provide the desired volume of air while at the same time bydelivering the air from the several fans through independent dampercontrolled conduits, I can control the amount of air which is deliveredto the cloth at any time with great precision.

In dealing with certain types of material, for example, glove silk andrayon, in which the material is subjected to finishing processessubsequent to the tentering and in which processes it is essential thatthe cloth be cool, I may find it desirable to furnish one or more of theunits adjacent to the delivery end of the machine with cooling meansrather than heating means in order that the cloth may be delivered atthe proper temperature for subsequent treatment.

Thus, for example, as shown in Fig. 14, I have substituted cooling coils84 for the heating coils 40. Preferably a drip pan 85 is arrangedbeneath the cooling coils to take care of any condensate, such pan beingfurnished with an appropriate drain. The cooling fluid is supplied tothe coil 84 through a pipe, and, if desired, the flow of cooling fluidmay be automatically regulated by just this desired amount of moistureremaining,

I may prefer to remove substantially all of the moisture, leaving the,fabric bone dry and then restore moisture to a predetermined amouritduring the passage of the fabric through the last units of the series.

For this purpose, as shown in Fig. 13, the unit 6 may be furnished withagrid or baiile 89 in place of the heating coil 40, such grid or bafliepreferably having a drip pan .90 arranged beneath it, and against thisgrid or in the space immediately preceding it I may arrange a vaporizingnozzle 9| supplied with water or other appropriate fluid through a pipe92. The supply of liquid may be automatically regulatedl, if desired, bymeans of a valve 93 controlled, for example, electrically by means of asolenoid 94 responsive to a humidostat 95 arranged at any desired pointwithin the casing.

It is of course to be understood that all of the units may besubstantially like that illustrated in Fig. 3 or that I may employ anycombination of units such as those shown in Figs. 3, 13 and 14 ascircumstances may warrant.

Furthermore, while I have illustrated the invention in a specificembodiment as showing a desirable arrangement of parts for obtaining thedesired results, I wish it to be understood that the invention is notnecessarily limited to the particular arrangements here shown, but maybe embodied in any construction employing equivalent elements orarrangements within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a cloth tentering frame,

,a plurality of individual conditioning units each ings therethrough andguide means extending laterally to points spaced outwardly beyond thepositions of the edges of the cloth, and a conduit arranged to deliverair from one fan housing to the space above the upper septum, and aconduit arranged to deliver air from the other fan housing to the spacebelow the lower septum.

2. In combination with a cloth tentering frame, a plurality ofindividual conditioning units each corresponding to a predeterminedsection of the frame, said units being distributed longitudinally of theframe and collectively defining a housing about said frame, each unithaving a power driven shaft, a plurality of fans carried by each suchshaft, means for varying the temperature of air on its way to the fans,plenum chamber-casings above and below the cloth level respectively,said casings having substantially parallel walls disposed above andbelow the cloth respectively, each of said walls having a multitude ofsubstantially uniformly distributed openings therethe edges of thecloth, a conduit leading from each fan to one or the other of saidplenum chamber casings respectively, means directing the air dischargedfrom said casings, after impingement upon the cloth, back toward thefans, and means operative to vary the proportion of such returning airwhich passes through the temperaturevarying means on its way to thefans.

3. In combination with a cloth tentering frame, a plurality ofconditioning units each corresponding to a predetermined section of theframe, said units being distributed longitudinally of the frame, eachunit having a power driven shaft, a plurality of fans carried by theshaft, means for varying the temperature of air on its way to the fans,plenum chamber casings above and below the cloth level respectively,said casings having substantially parallel walls disposed above andbelow the cloth respectively, each of said walls having a multitude ofsubstantially uniformly distributed openings therethrough, a conduitleading from each fan to one or the other of said plenum chamber casingsrespectively, means directing the air discharged from said casings,after impingement upon the cloth, back toward the fans, a screen forremoving lint from the returning air, a'pivotal support for the screen,and a counterweight for the screen such that the screen movesautomatically to leave an unobstructed passage around it when it becomesclogged with lint.

4. In combination with a cloth tentering frame, a plurality ofindividualconditioning units each corresponding to a predetermined section of theframe, said units being distributed longitudinally of the frame andcollectively defining a housing about said frame, each unit comprising ahousing covering a. predetermined section of the tenter frame, each suchunit housing enclosing a plurality of power driven fans, plenum chambercasings disposed above and below the cloth level respectively, eachcasing having a wall which is substantially parallel to the plane of thecloth,

' said wall having a multitude of substantially unithrough and guidemeans extending laterally to adjustable width, means for delivering airagainst the surface of the cloth being treated, said means comprising afixed distributing element which extends transversely of the cloth butwhose transverse dimension does not exceed the minimum width of cloth tobe treated, and fixed guide means extending laterally from saiddistributing element to points outwardly beyond the positions of theedges of cloth of maximum width being treated in the frame.

6. In combination with a tenter frame of adjustable width, means fordelivering air against the surface of the cloth being treated, saidmeans comprising a fixed distributing element, said distributing elementcomprising a perforate plate having a central portion substantiallyparallel to the plane of the cloth, and perforate margins inclinedoutwardly and away from the cloth, and fixed guide aprons extendingbeyond said margins, said guide aprons having portions disposedsubstantially parallel to the plane of the cloth and reaching outwardlyto a point beyond the margins of the cloth when the frame has beenextended to its maximum width.

LUCIEN BUCK.

